


Change Partners

by pickyourselfupfred



Series: Fred and Ginger forever [22]
Category: Astaire/Rogers RPF, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3812410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickyourselfupfred/pseuds/pickyourselfupfred
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of a dance that I believe was one of their most romantic in the RKO series. I've been reading a novelisation of Shall We Dance from a fan magazine of the thirties, Screen Romances, and this inspired me to write a story about one dance, filling in all those gaps from Carefree. This is for all those romantics amongst us.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change Partners

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OldMoviesAreIt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldMoviesAreIt/gifts), [Samantha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samantha/gifts).



Why that first rehearsal for Change Partners had been so exciting and emotive neither of them could say. After all it was just another dance and another song. They tried to put their finger on it but it was speculation.  
‘Maybe’, said Fred, ‘it’s because it is a different concept – wooing you whilst you’re under hypnosis – desperately wanting you but not being able to tell you in any other way’.  
‘Perhaps it’s simply because Amanda is under his power’, she mused, then, ‘I guess it’s about us and how we feel Fred. We just love to dance together’.

They’d had a wonderful day, working alone for once as Pan had to be elsewhere. They’d literally danced for hours, trying out moves and putting little sequences together. There had been plenty of fun for them as well. Bad jokes, puns, tickles for Ginger and silly steps from Fred. All of this was normal but somehow the atmosphere in the rehearsal room had made them exceptionally happy.

Towards the end of the day he had decided that the dance would benefit from one of Ginger’s trademark backward bends but thought of a trickier way of accomplishing this. They had both loved the move in Roberta where they had introduced it in one of their numbers ‘Smoke gets in Your Eyes’. Fred had adored the way she had let her hand trail briefly against the floor as she arched back in his arms, a move he thought so sinuous and sexy, and had considered repeating that. However, as a perfectionist he didn’t want to repeat that move exactly so had come up with an alternative.

He outlined his idea to her. She was supposed to be in a trance, she would fall back in a way that suggested total relaxation; he would catch her as she went back and it would turn into one of her glorious back bends.  
‘But Ginge, I’m sure I’ll catch you but there is a chance I might drop you. Do you want to go ahead?’  
She had immediately responded with enthusiasm.  
‘I told you years ago Fred, I’d trust in you completely and I still do. Let’s give it a try’.  
He kissed her for her confidence in him and they tried out the move. She let herself fall back fearlessly and he did indeed catch her. She loved the large hands that supported her so well and made her feel so safe. As he brought her back up close to him she put her arms about his neck and kissed him gently. Little did she know another idea had sparked in his head.  
‘Well’, he said, ‘that’s ok then baby’.  
‘Oh yes, very’, she replied, eyes twinkling in delight, ‘Now that you’ve got me in your power Fred what say we call it a day here and you can show me some more of your skills back home?’

Soon after they arrived at Ginger’s house she was once again held tightly by those wonderful hands of his. Unfettered now by clothing, he felt the soft swell of her breasts against his chest and her belly pressed closely to his own. They kissed passionately whilst using their hands to stroke and caress each other. When they separated they smiled for one another.  
‘This dance you’re creating for us is making me fall in love with you all over again’.  
‘You'd make any man want you to fall in love with him’.  
‘When your hands were so near to me but not touching me I ached for you so much’.  
‘How do you think I felt Gin? I always want to touch you’.  
He laced his fingers in her own before bringing them to his lips to kiss.  
‘When I first danced with you in New York you fitted so well with me that I kinda knew I was falling for you’.  
‘When you held me Fred all I could really think about was how good your hand felt on my back’.  
He pulled her hands around his neck and pressed his lips to hers again. This was a place she could happily stay but, tired though they were, this night was made for loving and neither of them could think of anything better than to lie in each other’s arms.

The longer they rehearsed the dance the more she realised how intense he was about this routine. It had become a very intimate number although for much of the time they hardly touched. Moreover his choreography was subtly changing. He had never been one for a lot of lifts with her but buoyed by the success of the lifts in the Yam he had included many more in this dance. Ginger didn’t mind, when she was lifted by him she felt as if she were flying and the sheer joy of the experience infused her with even greater desire for him. Over rehearsal period they not only worked extremely hard but also loved hard with a neediness to reaffirm and celebrate their passion for each other.  
She wanted to ask him why this particular number had so inspired him, however, knew this was not the time to question but embrace the moment.

They wouldn’t start shooting the routine until the song had been filmed and today that process would begin. On a busy sound stage, particularly today with many extras also there, they both liked to take time out and sit quietly, lost in their own thoughts. Today was no exception and they sat, side by side, in chairs at the back of the set. Fred was bowed forward, head in hands whilst she leaned back eyes shut. She had happy thoughts. She was remembering last night after making love and how wonderful it was to be face to face, still as close as they could be, arms and legs a tangle and breathing together as one being. She’d never tire of looking at his face and knowing, that even in a crowded room, those eyes would always draw her to him. However imperfect their personal lives they shared the secret of a true and enduring love for one another.

Fred, on the other hand, was more troubled. There were things developing that he had to tell her about but didn’t know how. He wanted her content and happy but reality had a way of impinging on happiness. He consoled himself with the thought of how he had woken that very morning. Her back had been pressed against his chest; his arm had encircled her whilst his other hand lay stretched across the flat plain of her stomach. She lay like an innocent child, surrendered totally to him, at peace in his arms. It was a beautiful picture to hold in his mind and he unconsciously reached for her hand. She turned and smiled at him and he kept his resolve. What he had to say could wait, at least until this picture was over. 

The scene written for the song seemed very strange for both of them. Dancing, but not with each other and also having to negotiate extras who were inexperienced dancers. Fred, as usual, fretted and asked for rehearsal after rehearsal until he felt it would work. Ginger thought he’d got off lucky, his partner could follow him and frankly any woman dancing with Fred would have his guidance and help. She liked Ralph Bellamy well enough and he was popular with the cast but oh he was clumsy. He gripped her far too tightly, not the feather touch of Fred, and she had lost count of the times he trod on her feet during rehearsals. She found herself thinking very wryly when he sang ‘Won’t you change partners and dance with me’, yes please Fred, like a shot!

They completed the first day of a difficult shoot eventually but once again she sensed tension in him when they finally wrapped. Back in his dressing room he snapped,  
‘They’re doing it again Gin. I know why it’s scripted and yes we’ll dance to the song but this damned studio and the way we’re handled by Sandrich gets me down. Dancing in a bunch of others – they’re trying to crowd us out’.  
She went to him and held his hands.  
‘Fred be rational, it’s just a script and Sandrich always sticks to the script. Shoot the scenes and be done with them. We’ve got loads more fun things ahead. It can’t and mustn’t hurt us’.  
‘Gin I,’ he couldn’t continue as he saw her concern. He hugged her tightly then, ‘Sorry. I went off on one. You know me. It’s a lovely song and I just want to sing it for you’.  
‘Tomorrow we’ll finish it and then that’s over. Make the most of the song and we’ll have some fun’.  
‘Oh sweetie, you’re always right’, he chuckled, ‘except when you’re wrong’.  
She swatted him and thought, not for the first time, he could drive me mad like this for the rest of my life I love him so.

Next day he was a changed man; he’d given himself a good talking to. Relaxed and playful they had a ball completing the scenes. He coached some of the extras, gave Bellamy some tips on avoiding Ginger’s feet and politely but firmly told Sandrich that if the scene followed Fred’s direction the dance wouldn’t have the problems of the day before. He also made sure when they circled each other during the course of the song that, whenever he could, he briefly touched her arm with his hand. This was a game they really enjoyed. He even tried to make her giggle as she filmed single shots with Bellamy by repeating Helen Broderick’s gestures of ‘ go on, get together’ from the beginning of Cheek to Cheek. And when, at the end of filming for the day, publicity came in to take stills he openly held her hand as they posed. She appreciated all of it. It was his way of saying sorry for being so terse the day before and it was just for her. She looked forward to thanking him properly later.

Filming their dance came later on in the shooting process and they approached the day with additional practice sessions. Ginger thought that this time was particularly special. They had the routine down pat but now Fred added those tweaks that really polished what they did. They had two days in which they worked alone both in rehearsal room and on the sound stage. They were able to dance in the proper setting and right to the end he continued adding extra steps or hand movements. It was in this period that he sprung his surprise on her. They had planned to end the dance with a series of spins before he let her rest onto the garden seat. He drew her to one side on their last practice afternoon.  
‘Ginge, I’ve been thinking about this and I’d like to change the ending’.  
She rolled her eyes.  
‘Why do you always leave these things till the last minute Fred?’  
‘I thought about it in bed last night’.  
‘Thanks for the compliment’.  
‘No you klutz, just before I drifted off to sleep’.  
‘So ‘fess up, what’s the plan’.  
‘Don’t laugh. I’m going to pick you up in my arms and carry you to the seat’.  
‘Well this is a first’.  
‘What do you think?’  
‘Let’s try’.

They worked on the lift and tried it out. As she was spun around she thought only of the night back in New York when he had carried her over the threshold of her apartment. She was quite breathless as he gently settled her down before sitting by her side. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes and in her mind she became the young woman, barely out of her teens, who had fallen head over heels with the man who watched her now.  
‘Fred that was quite a feeling, it was wonderful’, she said, almost in a whisper, her eyes never leaving his.  
‘Thanks’.  
He knew that somehow both of them had just been as intimate with each other as they had ever been in their personal life. It was the craziest, happiest moment ever.

He had more surprises and thrills for her next day as shooting proceeded. The dance would be filmed in two sequences. The first part was the section where she was put into a hypnotic trance. They blocked this light heartedly as usual, not needing to be in character but when filming began Fred looked at her throughout with an intensity that smouldered with desire whilst she had to maintain a blank, unemotional exterior. She found it almost impossible as, in the hypnotic movements of his hands, he was tenderer than ever, an almost electric spark linking them and when he cradled her in the back bend his hands were gentle against her skin. They both completed this part of the dance without the frequent smiles and looks which were a normal part of their numbers. They weren’t even in character. It was a pure dance of intense love. As they paused at the end of the sequence they held each other’s eyes and knew what these moments had meant for both of them.

They moved almost immediately to the second part of the dance where he would finally pull her closely into him. When shooting began, as they came together their faces nearly touched in a way they hadn’t rehearsed or hadn’t intended to but in the heat of the moment they couldn’t stop themselves. They circled and as they turned Fred briefly, lightly brushed his lips against her own. They circled again and he repeated the fleeting kiss. Her heart beat faster as her showed his love in a way he’d never done before. Always the professional, routines were exactly as rehearsed but this gesture had thrilled her like nothing before. And afterwards, swept into his arms and brought to rest on the seat, he again cradled her bare back as if he were making love. Even after Sandrich called ‘Cut’ they were unable to move, Ginger looking away from him, into the middle distance, lost in the wonder of what had occurred whilst Fred simply couldn’t takes his eyes from her.

Around them on the sound stage was the usual clamour of technicians shouting instructions, cameras moving and people chattering in groups. Amidst all this hubbub Ginger turned back to Fred who had gently taken her hand. They were alone in a busy world and no one noticed, no one heard as he quietly spoke to the woman who moved him like no other.

‘Gin, I love you’.


End file.
